Willy Wonka and his Chocolate Factory
by Michaela Rachel Katrina
Summary: Charlie and the chocolate factory in Willy Wonka's POV. ww/oc. Rating T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

I walked down the stairs and made my way to the barber room for my semi-annual haircut. I walked into the room and sat down in the chair whilst my beloved Oompa Loompa started to cut my hair to the style it always is. I sat there patiently and just thought to myself. I had to admit it, I was lonely right now. I know I had my Oompa Loompa's but sometimes, even though I wouldn't admit it out loud, I craved human contact. Not that my Oompa Loompa's weren't human's but they weren't the same as me. The Oompa Loompa raised the mirror and passed it to me and I grabbed it to take a look. I grinned in satisfaction but then paused as I saw something. I frowned and slowly grabbed it; it was a silver hair.

My eyes widened. I could not believe this. I had a grey hair! Then as though something had just zapped me I had the horrible thought of what should happen to my factory and precious Oompa Loompa's when I am gone. What would happen to them? Nothing bad I hope. I thanked the Oompa Loompa and walked out of the room and made it to my office. I closed the door and sat down behind the desk. In this one silver hair I could see my entire life's work. Everything would be gone and ruined when I was gone and I would not let that happen. But what could I do, there was no one to take over the factory when I was gone.

I needed an heir of some sort. But I don't have that, I thought sadly and sighed. Suddenly an amazing idea just popped into my mind. I could find one! Hmm, how to do it? I spent that entire night thinking of how to do find an heir when I finally came up with the perfect idea, like always. I could send out some tickets and the kid who gets them could come to see the factory for a tour. The least rotten and spoilt would be my heir. Perfect! How many I should take though was the problem. I didn't want too many but I didn't want too little. I finally decided on five and grinned to myself. This was all coming together nicely. I called for an Oompa Loompa and told them of my idea and got him creating the tickets that would be needed.

I had written a little something that would be going on to the ticket and handed it to the Oompa Loompa. He waddled off and started on that whilst I decided it was best to go to bed as it was getting late. I changed my clothes and brushed my teeth before I got into bed. I smiled to myself before I finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning I got up, dressed, washed and made my way to the office to write the letter that would be sent out to the world so they would know what was going on. It took awhile before I finally managed to get it right and perfect and then I sealed it. I walked to the glass elevator and pressed a button to go to the **candy room **and stepped outside. I looked at the waterfall and sniffed the air. I loved this room the most as it was one of my greatest accomplishments. I mean, everything was edible. Wow. I spent my day doing what I did best, inventing candy. When the night came I went into the room where the Wonka bars were made and slipped the five golden tickets that the Oompa Loompa had made and watched as they were put into the wrapped bars and handed the letter to one of the drivers and laughed to myself at the idea of it before I walked back to my room.

I really hoped that not all of them were horrible brats. At least one of them had to be nice and selfless. That is what I hoped anyhow. I changed and hopped into bed and smiled to myself. Soon I would get myself an heir. I would have to watch the news everyday just to make sure that I didn't miss the winner's. I wanted to know beforehand who they were as I was going to put up a test for them and hopefully they will pass and prove themselves.

It was about five days later before the first ticket was found. I was sat in the lounge and turned the TV on to the news when it popped up that my first golden ticket had been found. I was so excited. I turned the volume up and watched with a huge smile on my face. I saw a fat kid with chocolate all over his face and his mother stood next to him and his father in the background. From their accent's I could tell they were German.

_**On the TV… **_

"_Augustus?" the press man said and held the microphone closer to the boy. _

"_This way." the press woman said. _

"_I am eating the Wonka bar and I taste something, that is not chocolate. . . or coconut. . . Or walnut, or peanut butter. . . or nougat. . . or butter brittle, or caramel, or sprinkles. So I look and, I find the golden ticket." Augustus said and smiled happily._

"_Augustus, how did you celebrate?" _

"_I eat more candy." he said and bit into a Wonka bar. _

"_We knew Augustus would find the golden ticket. He eats so many candy bars a day that it was not possible for him not to find one." the boy's mother told them with a smile. _

"_Yes, it is good, Augustus. Zehr gut." the press man said. _

Ew. This boy was disgusting. He ate too much. I love candy more than anyone but that was horrible. I thought about what test I could have for the boy and my eyes lit up when I realised the perfect plan. I called for an Oompa Loompa and told them about the plan. I had asked them to make up a song so that if the kid's lose their test then the Oompa Loompa's could sing a song at the end. Perfect. I smiled to myself and walked out of the lounge and made my way to the invention room. Let's see if those hair toffee's are working now.

A few days later another one of my tickets were found and I excitedly turned on the news and saw a little girl with curly dark hair and was stood by her parents holding the ticket up proudly in her hands.

_**On the TV… **_

"_Veruca. Can you spell that for us, please?" the press man asked. _

"_V-E-R-U-C-A. Veruca Salt." she said proudly. _

"_Soon as my little Veruca told me she had to have one of these golden tickets, I started buying up all the Wonka bars I could lay my hands on." her father told the press people. "Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands. I'm in the nut business, you see. So I say to my workers, "Morning, ladies. From now on you can stop shelling peanuts and start shelling the wrappers off these chocolate bars instead." Three days went by and we had no luck. Oh, it was terrible. My little Veruca got more and more upset each day." He looked down at his daughter. "Well, gentlemen, I just hated to see my little girl feeling unhappy like that. I vowed I would keep up the search until I could give her what she wanted. And finally, I found her a ticket." _

I turned off the TV with a slight scowl on my face. That girl was a no good cheater and spoilt brat. I didn't think I would like her. Hm, what could be her test? I thought to myself. She would want something she can't have… Oh, I know. I called for an Oompa Loompa and told him the plan for the girl and gave him the name so they could make a song to go with it. They were pleased, they loved to do it. Well, that is two of them. I wonder who will be the third winner. I shrugged and walked out of the room and decided to go and sort out the puppet show I would be having at the beginning of the tour. I couldn't wait, it would be magnificent.

_**On the TV… **_

"_These are just some of the two hundred and sixty-three trophies and medals my Violet has won." a woman said with blonde hair. They were wearing the same pink tracksuit. _

"_I'm a gum chewer, mostly, but when I heard about these ticket things I laid off the gum, switched to candy bars." the daughter said as she was chewing on some gum. _

"_She's just a driven young woman. I don't know where she gets it." her mother said to the camera. _

"_I'm the Junior World Champion Gum Chewer. This piece of gum, I'm chewing right at this moment, I've been working on for three months solid. That's a record." she said smugly and her mother smiled. _

"_Of course, I did have my share of trophies, mostly baton." her mother said and pointed to the wall. _

"_So it says that one kid's gonna get this special prize, better than all the rest. I don't care who those other four are. That kid, it's gonna be me." Violet said. _

"_Tell them why, Violet." _

"_Because I'm a winner." she said. _

I turned the TV and sighed. Wasn't there going to be anybody that would be good enough to be my heir? They were all spoilt brats. This girl was so certain she would win and he already had the perfect idea for the test for her. It was easy to see what test he could do for her and he told it to the Oompa Loompa that was in the room with him and he ran off to tell the others and to think of a song. I couldn't wait to hear the songs they would play for them. They were amazing really. I sighed and prayed that someone would find the ticket who wasn't such an evil, spoilt and annoying kid. Hopefully someone nice.

Finally the fourth ticket was found and I turned on the TV to watch. This time it was another boy and he was sat in front of the TV playing a video game.

_**On the TV… **_

"_This is just in. The fourth golden ticket has been found by a boy called Mike Teavee." the news presenter said and it switched to the boy in his home. _

"_All you had to do was track the manufacturing dates, offset by the weather and the derivative of the Nikkei Index. A retard could figure it out." Mike said as he looked at the screen. _

"_Most of the time I don't know what he's talking about. You know, kids these days, what with all the technology. . ." his father drawled. _

"_Die! Die! Die!" Mike shouted. _

"_Doesn't seem like they stay kids very long." Mike dropped the remote and looked at the press men. _

"_In the end, I only had to buy one candy bar." he admitted. _

"_And how did it taste?" _

_Mike shrugged. "I don't know. I hate chocolate." he said. _

"_That question is, who will be the winner of the last gold. . ." _

I turned off the TV with a foul expression on my face. I so did not like that boy. He didn't even like chocolate, I could not have him for my heir. Something had to be done about him. Even if it is meant to be a fair competition I would not be having that boy as my heir. I prayed that the last golden ticket would be found by a nice child. Everyone else was horrible so far. And there wasn't that long left either. I sighed and called an Oompa Loompa to me and told him the news and watched him leave.

* * *

It had been a few days and still my last ticket had not been found. What would happen if my last ticket was not found? I thought to myself. I would not have one of those spoilt brats as my heirs, unless they proved to me that they were not like that. But if they all were then he would have to think of some other prize for them and think of something esle. I sighed and turned on the TV. It came up with the news and it mentioned how someone from Russia had found the last golden ticket. Ah, so they have all been found now. Well, that was a load off. The big day was only in about two days. I was relieved.

The next day I was not so happy. It turned out that someone had forged at ticket and it had been a fake. Now what? That left the other four kids. I sighed and decided to go to bed. Tomorrow would be the day that I go and meet them. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous because I am. I had not been around people for about fifteen years and that made me alot nervous. Alot. Yikes. I took a breath and forced myslef to sleep.

* * *

I got ready in my normal clothes when I got up and looked at the clock. It said it was 9.30. I walked to the chocolate room and made sure all the Oompa Loompa's were ready for anything and made sure I was ready for a whole load of improvisation. Well, I am Willy Wonka, I can do anything. "Heh." I cleared my throat and walked to the main doors and went to the side where the big speaker was stationed and looked at my watch. 9.59.

I waited for my watch to say 10.00 am and as soon as the clock moved I pressed the button and spoked through the speaker. I could see from a small window the contestants all in a line and was pleased to see a fifth contender. "Please enter." I said and watched as they all walked into the factory grounds. "Close the gates." I watched as the gates closed before I started to speak again. "Dear visitors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to my humble factory. And who am I? Well. . ." I trailed off and pulled a rope from the side and the red curtain's flew up. I snuck out the side door and walked out into the grounds and stood next to a girl with chocolate brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that was watching the show with a small smile on her face. She only came up to my shoulder, I noticed. I turned around and watched my show. It was amazing.

_Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, The amazing chocolatier.  
Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, Everybody give a cheer!  
Hooray! He's modest, clever and so smart, __He barely can restrain it.  
With so much generosity, there is no way to contain it!  
To contain it! To contain, to contain, to contain! Hooray!_  
_Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, He's the one that you're about to meet.  
Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, He's the genius who just can't be beat._  
_The magician and the chocolate whiz.  
The best darn guy who ever lived.  
Willy Wonka, here he is!_

I had it on a timer so the chair would come up and I watched in glee as the red chair sprung up but then the sparks flew everywhere and lit the whole dolls on fire and they melted. I did not care, it was still so fun and magnificent. The girl stopped swaying to the music but still had a small smile on her face and she didn't even notice that I was stood next to her. I started to clap and everyone turned to look at me.

"Wasn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle part, but then that finale. . . Wow!" I exclaimed and laughed. The girl smiled softly and looked back up at the dolls. I walked forward and stood on the steps. I looked down at them and lost my nerve. The last time I had talked to someone was when I had human workers here and that was a long time ago.

"Who are you?" Violet asked, rather rudely in my opinion.

"He's Willy Wonka." the brown haired girl said much to my relief.

"Really?" the boy with her asked with a smile on his face. I gulped and looked at them all. They were all staring at me weirdly. I did not like it. Only the girl and boy at the end was smiling and had a friendly expression on their faces which made me feel a smidge better.

"Good morning starshine, the earth says hello." I said nervously with a nervous smile and it just made me more nervous as from their expressions it looked like it didn't go down too well.

"Good morning earth, starshine says hello." the brunette haired girl said and everyone turned to look at her. I smiled at her, she didn't make me look like too much of an idiot but now the other's were looking at her weird. I took a breath and reached into my coat and took out the cue cards I had made earlier. I did not want to look like a complete idiot. This was my factory after all and I did not want to make any mistakes. Well, not ones too bad. I was sure some of the kids would have accidents.

"Dear guests, greetings. Welcome to the factory. I shake you warmly by the hand." I said as I read from the card. I stook my hand out nervously for someone to shake my hand and it just made me even more nervous and anxious when no one did. I was about to pull it back in when the girl took it with a smile. She was really helping me, so I smiled gratefully at her and she went back in line. Everyone was staring at her again. "My name is Willy Wonka." I laughed nervously.

"Then shouldn't you be up there?" Veruca asked and pointed to the chair. I turned around and then raised an eyebrow at her. Was she that stupid?

"Well, I couldn't very well watch the show from up there, now, could I, little girl?" She dropped her arm and stood back next to her father. I stood straighter and cleared my throat.

"Mr Wonka?" I heard the girl say and turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"I don't know if you'll remember... but my Grandpa Joe used to work here in the factory." she said and I immediately switch off. My face became hardened as I looked at her.

"Was he one of those despicable spies who every day tried to steal my life's work and sell it to those parasitic copy-cat, candy making cads?" I asked stonily and she looked taken aback. She had honesty written all over her face.

"No sir." I smiled because I could tell that she was telling the truth and I was back to my happy self.

"Alright then. I hope he's doing well." I said, hopefully to make up to the fact that I was a little short with her. "Let's get a move on kids." I turned around and led them back into the factory and they all followed me in. I started to strip out of my outer coat and dropped it on the floor.

"Don't you want to know our names?" Augustus asked and I rolled my eyes but they couldn't see. Did he really think I did not have a TV.

"Can't see how it would matter." I muttered. "Come quickly, far too much to see. Just drop your coats anywhere." I took my goggles off and dropped them on my coat and turned around to look at the group. The girl from before had just taken off her coat and she had on a red dress that I didn't know why I thought she looked amazing in. I shook my head and was about to walked when Mr Teavee spoke up.

"Mr Wonka? It sure is toasty in here?" he said.

"What? Oh, yeah. I have to keep it warm in here, because my workers are used to an extremely hot climate. They just can't stand the cold." I told him with a smile and turned around.

"Who are the workers?" I turned around to see who spoke and found it was the boy who won the fifth golden ticket. He looked shy.

"All in good time." I said and started to walked down the hall. "Now..." I was immediately cut off as I gasped. The little girl was touching me. Violet had decided to hug me around the waist and I did not like it. I did not like touch much, mainly because I was not used to being touch and besides this girl didn't seem nice to me and I didn't want her touching me. Get her off!

"Mr Wonka, I'm Violet Beauregarde." she told me and I couldn't help the grimace that crossed my face.

"Oh? I don't care." I told her honestly and carried on walking. She walked in step with me and continued to snap her gum which was just annoying and loud.

"Well you should care." she said as she looked up at me. "Because I'm the girl that's gonna win the special prize at the end."

"Well you do seem confident and confident is key." I told her. It was true but it wasn't going to help her much here. I saw from the corner of my eye that she looked up to her mother with a grin and her mother gave her a look. I internally snickered and gasped again when the other little girl, Veruca, was suddenly in front of me. She curtsied and I just grimaced again. What was with these kids?

"I'm Veruca Salt. It's very nice to meet you, sir." she said politely. Not that it fooled me, she was just trying to get on my good side by being polite. Hah! That won't work. Silly girl.

"I always thought that a veruca was a type of wart you got on the bottom of your foot. Ha!" I laughed and was a little satisfied when he smile dropped off her face. I smiled and heard another laugh in the background and smiled to myself. That was a pretty laugh. I shook my head and didn't even get to move a step when Augustus Glopp stepped in front of me. His best friend in his hand.

"I'm Agustus Gloop and I _love _your chocolate." he said as he stuffed more chocolate in his mouth. I scrunched my nose up and looked him over. Yes, I could see he loved my chocolate. And what made it worse was his parents allowed him to eat this much candy a day. It was disgusting.

"I can see that." I told him with a smile. "So do I. I never expected to have so much in common." I took a step forward when I stopped. I narrowed my eyes and spun around to face the other two children. "You." I said and smiled at Mike. The brat had a bored expression on his face. How I hated him. He shouldn't be allowed in my factory. Ungrateful boy. "Your Mike Teavee. You're the little devil that cracked the system." My smile may have turned a little mocking. I turned to the next boy but really, I had no idea who he was. "And you, well you're just looking to be her aren't you?"

I looked at the adults in the room one by one. "And the rest of you must be their. . ." I tried to say the word but it wouldn't come out. It was like it couldn't. I had blocked all this out ages ago and this was bringing it back, I didn't like it. Violet's mother and Mr. Salt, I noticed, looked a little freaked out.

"Parents?" Mr Salt said with his eyebrows raised and I nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah." I said tightly. "Mom's and dad's." Suddenly the image of my father popped into my mind. "Dad? Papa?" I thought I was going to cry but took a breath and looked up to the other people in the room. "Let's move along." I said awkwardly and we all moved finally down the hall. I listened to the conversation behind me.

"Would you like some chocolate?" I heard Augustus Gloop ask someone and raised my eyebrows. Was the boy going to be nice and actually share?

"Sure."

"Then you should have brought some." he teased and my eyebrow twitched. I guess I have my answer then and from that I had a pretty good idea how his test was going to go and I knew how I wanted it to go.

"Let's be friends?" I heard the little girl, Veruca say. I could tell that she was faking it and I grit my teeth. These children didn't seem to be very nice at all, the only ones not saying anything was the little boy and Mike Teavee. The adults were quiet.

"Best friends." Violet said and then they seemed to go silent but I could still hear the horrible sound of that piece of gum in her mouth snap all the time. We had to hunch now as the hall was getting smaller and smaller and I couldn't help but smile a little. We stopped at the end and I turned around to face them and took out the keys from my pocket.

"An important room, this. After all, it is a chocolate factory." I told them.

"Then why is the door so small?" Mike asked rather rudely. I so didn't like him. No-way.

"That's to keep all the great big chocolaty flavour inside." I chuckled, brushing him off and stuck the key in the lock and turned it. I pushed the door open and smiled widely. We all straightened up and walked inside the room. This was going to be where Augustus was going to be tested. "Now, do be careful, me dear children. Don't lose your heads. Don't get overexcited. Just keep very calm." I said slyly and peeked at Augustus from the corner of my eye. I noticed his mouth was hanging open and he had dropped his candy bar on the floor. I looked back with a grin.

"It's beautiful." I heard the little boy, whose name I do not know, mutter. I looked back and couldn't help but look at the brunette girl he had come with.

"What?" I said as I nearly forgot what he had said. "Oh yeah, it's very beautiful." I turned away and started walking again. Just as we had came to the bridge I stopped and turned around and pointed to the river underneath and the waterfall above us. This was something good to tell them. "Every drop of the river, is hot, melted chocolate of the finest quality. The waterfall is most important. Mixes the chocolate. Churns it up. Makes it light and frothy." I said, discribing it with my hands. "By the way… no other factory in the world, mixes it's chocolate by waterfall, my dear children. And you can take that to the bank." I said proudly with a grin. I mean, why shouldn't I? Heh. No one else had come up with something like this.

We walked over the bridge and I stopped and let them pass and grabbed the girl who was with the boy when she tripped as she was looking around the room. She blushed and I couldn't help but smile when I saw it. "Thank you." she muttered.

"Heh. You're welcome." I said and looked at the group and called them to get their attention. "People?" They stopped and turned around to face me and I pointed up to the pipes that were above and descending into the chocolate river. Now was as good as any to tell them about them. "Those pipes… suck up the chocolate, and carry it away, all over the factory. Thousands of gallons an hour. Yeah." I stepped forward and motioned to the grass. "And do you like my meadow? Try some of my grass. Please have a blade. Please do. It's so delectable and so darn good-looking." I grinned proudly and held the cane in my hands.

"You can eat the grass?" the unknown little boy asked surprised and I smiled and tilted my head.

"Of course you can. Everything in this room is edible. Even I'm edible. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is, in fact frowned upon in most societies. Yeah." Hopefully they would listen to me. It's just disgusting. "Enjoy. Go on. Scoot, scoot." I noticed that Augustus went off like a rocket and refrained from rolling my eyes. Greedy boy. I noticed that Mr Salt was staring at me and to be frank, I didn't like it. I stared unblinkingly at him and I think I may have scared him as he stepped backwards and went away. "Heh!" I was rather proud of myself and couldn't help but smirk a little. I looked up and noticed that the unknown girl was stood near me. She was sat crossed legged on the floor near the river and had a flower in her hand. I walked over to the end of the pathway next to the waterfall and grabbed a pink ladel and a cup. I always kept these here in case I wanted to test it (though it was always perfect) or I wanted a drink. I scooped some up and walked over to the girl and sat next to her. She gasped in shock when I stuck the cup in front of her face. "Here, try it."

She grabbed the cup and took a sip. I watched as her eyes widened and she grinned. "This is amazing." she said.

"I know." I giggled. I grabbed a flower up myself and bit into it. "What do you think?" I asked and spread my arms so to motion the room and not just the drink in her hand or flower.

"It's amazing." she said sincerely and it made me smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, I have no idea how you came up with it, but it is amazing." she grinned.

"Heh, well - I'm Willy Wonka. Chocolate extrordinaire." She laughed softly. "What is your name? I can't keep refering you to girl in my head." She blushed slightly.

"My name is Rachel." she said.

"Rachel." I echoed. "I like it." Suddenly it was interrupted by the sound of Veruca Salt.

"Daddy, look over there. What is it? It's a little person. Over there, by the waterfall." she said and pointed to where my beloved Oompa Loompa's were stood. She had a lolly in her hand and she was looking at them curiously. I got up and helped the girl, Rachel up. We walked over to where the rest of the group was and stilled.

"There's two of them." Mrs. Beauregarde said from behind me. I didn't like that she was so close to me. Ew.

"There's more than two." Mr Teavee muttered and I was just listening to the random things they were saying.

"Where do they come from?" Mrs Gloop said in her thick German accent. She had a piece of chocolate in her hand and was staring up at the Oompa Loompa's. They were in red leather outfits with their hair pulled back as usual.

"Who are they?" the little boy with Rachel asked curiously. At least he asked a proper question. I was about to answer when Mike interrupted rather rudely in my opinion.

"Are they real people?" he sneered, which offended me. Of course they were. Better than Mike anyday. So there.

"Of course they're real people. They're Oompa-Loompas." I said slightly annoyed.

"Oompa-Loompas?" Rachel asked curiously and not at all in a bad way, which made me smile.

"Imported, direct from Loompaland." I told her and she was about to reply when she was cut off my the annoying little boy's father; Mr Tevee.

"There's no such place." he said.

"What?" I said sharply. He rolled his eyes and looked at me. I was not impressed. How dare he say that!

"Mr Wonka, I teach high-school geography, and I'm here to tell you…" he droned and I really didn't want to listen to him and especially not if he was going to tell me that Loompa Land was not a real place.

"Well, then you'll know all about it, and, oh, what a terrible country it is." I said and turned my nose up at him. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. I wanted him to know I did not care. He looked a little annoyed.

"What is it like?" Rachel asked curiously and her eyes were a little wide with it. I smiled at her and started my story.

"The whole place is nothing but think jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the entire world. Hornswogglers and snozzwangers and those terrible, wicked whangdoodles. I went to Loompaland looking for exotic new flavours for candy. Instead, I found the Oompa-Loompas." I said and she smiled slightly. "They lived in tree houses to escape from the fierce creatures who lived below. The Oompa-Loompas ate nothing but green caterpillars, which tasted revolting." I noticed she grimaced and I couldn't help but do the same in rememberance. "The Oompa-Loompas kept looking for other things to mash up with the caterpillars to make them taste better. Red beetles, the bark of the bong-bong tree. All of them beastly, but not quite so beastly as the caterpillars. But the food they longed for the most was the cocoa bean. An Oompa- Loompa was lucky if he found three or four cocoa beans a year. But, oh, how they craved them. All they'd ever think about was cocoa beans. The cocoa bean happens to be the thing from which chocolate is made, so I told the chief… 'Come live in my factory. You can have all the cocoa beans you want! I will even pay your wages in cocoa beans if you wish!'. They are such wonderful workers. I feel I must warn you, though, they are rather mischievous. Always making jokes." I said with a myschievious smile at the end thinking about the songs.

"Augustus, my child, that is not a good thing you do!" Mrs Gloop shouted suddenly and they all turned around to see that Augustus was on the other side of the bank and was drinking from the river. Oh no, the boy is ruining my chocolate. Disgusting boy.

"Hey, little boy. My chocolate must be untouched by human hands." I said a little anxiously. The greedy boy did not listen to me and went back for more. I closed my eyes in disappointment, anger and annoyance. He had fallen in and had ruined the chocolate and it would ne needed to be done over again so it would be perfect. His head came up and he gasped for air. One down, I though.

"He'll drown! He can't swim! Save him!" his mother yelled. "Augustus! No! Augustus!" I looked up and smiled slightly when I saw the pipes coming closer. They slowly descended into the river and created a whirlpool. The boy went round and round and was sucked up the pipe. "Augustus! Watch out!" his mother yelled.

"There he goes." Violet said emotionless and snapped her gum, making me twitch.

"Call the fire brigade!" Mrs Gloop shouted and I nearly rolled my eyes.

"Will he be alright?" I heard a soft voice from next to me say. I looked down to see a very worried Rachel. I smiled softly and reassuringly at her and she smiled slightly back.

"It's a wonder how that pipe is big enough." Mrs Beauregarde said in slight amazement and horrror as she look up at the pipe. Chocolate was coming out of the sides and I would be damned if I needed to get a new one.

"It isn't big enough. He's slowing down." The little boy said.

"He's gonna stick." Mike drawled.

"I think he has." his father agreed. Augustus had now managed to get stuck inside the pipe and was trying to wriggle to get free. I was praying that he woud not break the pipe.

"He's blocked the whole pipe." Mr Salt said, pointing out the obvious.

"Look. The Oompa-Loompas." the little boy exclaimed and pointed to where my Oompa Loompa's were. I was excited. I was finally going to be able to hear a song. The only one who didn't have a song yet was the little boy, Charlie who I now only knew because I heard Rachel mutter it. He didn't have a test either. The whole tour could be his test, I decided.

"What are they doing?" Veruca asked.

"Why, I believe they're going to treat us to a little song. It is quite a special occasion of course. They haven't had a fresh audience in many a moon." I told her with a smile.

_Augustus Gloop, Augustus Gloop, The great big, greedy nincompoop,  
Augustus Gloop, so big and vile, So greedy, foul and infantile,  
'Come on!' we cried 'the time is ripe, To sent him shooting up the pipe!'  
But don't, dear children, be alarmed,  
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed, Augustus Gloop will not be harmed.  
Although, of course, we must admit, He will be altered quite a bit,  
Slowly wheels go round and round, And cogs begin to grind and pound,  
This greedy brute, this louse's ear, Is loved by people everywhere,  
For who could hate or bear a grudge, Against a luscious bit if fudge?_

When the song finished Augustus went shooting up the pipe and into the machine along with the chocolate. I clapped my hands gleefully. That was an amazing song, they did very well. Wow. "Bravo! Well done! Aren't they delightful? Aren't they charming?" I said and looked at them all. At least Rachel seemed to enjoy it, even though some worry was still there for the boy. I knew he would be alright so I didn't think about it.

"I do say, that all seemed rather rehearsed." Mr Salt said, spoiling my fun.

"Like they knew it was gonna happen." Mike agreed and I scowled.

"Oh, poppycock." I muttered and grabbed my cane and started to walk away. Mrs Glopp came running up to me and I backed away a little.

"Where is my son? Where does that pipe go to?" she said axiously.

"That pipe," I said and quickly thought. "It just so happens to lead directly to the room where I make the most delicious kind of strawberry flavoured, chocolate-coated fudge." I grinned but Mrs Gloop seemed to get more nervous and scared after I told her that.

"Then he will be made into strawberry flavoured, chocolate-coated fudge. They'll be selling him by the pound all over the world?" she said, worry and fear clear in her voice but I couldn't help but blanch. Did she not listen to what I said about cannibalism before or was she ignoring me? Yeesh. Besides it would taste terrible. Yuck.

"No. I wouldn't allow it." I told her seriously. "The taste would be terrible. Can you imagine Augustus-flavoured, chocolate coated Gloop? Ew. No-one would buy it." I ignored her offended look, it was only the truth. I turned to my right when I heard a laugh and smirked slightly when I saw Rachel trying to stifle it. At least she found me funny. I called for one of the Oompa Loompa's and in a few second one came over and I bent down. "I want you to take Mrs Gloop up to the fudge room, kay? Help her find her son. Take a long stick and start poking around in the big chocolate-mixing barrel, kay?" I motioned with my cane what he should do. The Oompa Loompa nodded and bowed and I did the same. I straightened up and nodded my head to Mrs Gloop when the Oompa Loompa pulled on her skirt. She whined but hobbled away, chocolate still in hand. One gone.

"Mr Wonka?" I heard and turned around to see it was Charlie.

"Huh?"

"Why would Augustus' name already be in the Oompa-Loompa song, unless th. . .?" he said but I quickly cut him off, I did not need to be talking about this right now. Not on my to-do list.

"Improvisation is a parlour trick. Anyone can do it. You, little girl. Say something. Anything." I said to Violet. I already had the line I was going to say because I had already thought it up. I did this incase someone did ask me and I knew what this little girl would say and she didn't disappoint.

"Chewing gum."

"Chewing gum is really gross, Chewing gum I hate the most. See? Exactly the same." I grinned but it slid off when the annoying Mikes spoke up.

"No, it isn't." he sneered.

"Er, you really shouldn't mumble. Because I can't understand a word you're saying." I smiled and gripped my cane tightly. "Now, on with the tour." Finally off the subject and I was feeling better. We walked towards the edge of the grass where I knew the boat was going to come up and listened to the conversation between the lovely Rachel and Charlie.

"Are the Oompa-Loompas really joking?" he said.

"Of course they're joking. That boy will be fine." she said, making me smile. At least she believes that he will be fine. She was different than other girls and he didn't exactly know why.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I stopped at the river bank and the others stopped next to me as the sound of drums got louder and louder. I felt someone bang into me and looked down to see a red faced Rachel. She looked up at me and blushed a deeper red. I had to admit, I rather liked the sight of it. "I-I'm sorry." she stuttered and I giggled.

"No problem." I told her and she smiled slightly.

"Heh." I smiled back. The boat that was in the shape of a sea horse and was bright pink and came to a stop in front of them and the Oompa Loompa's that were dressed in blue this time giggled.

"What's so funny?" Violet asked smacking her gum again rather loudly.

"I think it's from all those doggone cocoa beans." I told them though that was not the reason. They were laughing because of what just happened with Augustus but now that I think of it, it could be because of the cocoa beans. Heh. Something came to me so I decided to tell the group. "Hey, by the way, did you guys know that chocolate contains a property that triggers the release of endorphins? Gives one the feeling of being in love." I looked at Rachel and she looked at me and I think I felt my face heating up just as hers was.

"You don't say." Mrs Beauregarde said in a breathy voice and looked right at me and I freaked out when I saw lust in her eyes. Oh boy, this is disgusting. She is… Ew. I turned away and gagged slightly.

"All aboard." I said awkwardly and decided to get on last. Rachel and the boy Charlie got on last and I decided to help her as she was looking slightly nervous. Maybe she was still thinking about Augustus and was trying to hard to not fall in. Huh. She smiled as I helped her and I sat at the back next to her. "Onward!" I motioned to the Oompa Loompa's and the boat started to move. I could feel the slight heat coming from her and shifted. "Here." I said as I dipped the ladle into the river and passed it to Rachel. "Try some of this. It'll do you good. You look starved to death." She made sure it didn't drop on her and took a sip. I waited eagerly. Some reason I wanted her to really like it. Her eyes lit up and I beamed. Wow. She liked it. She passed it to her brother and he took a sip aswell.

"It's great." he exclaimed and I chuckled.

"That's because it's mixed by waterfall. The waterfall is most important. Mixes the chocolate, churns it up, makes it light and frothy. Oh, by the way, no other factory in the world. . ." I was suddenly rudely interrupted by Veruca Salt.

"You already said that." I paused and blinked. Had I already said that? I thought over everything I had said to them and gulped when I remembered that I had said it before. Now I was making a fool of myself and had to think of something to come up with as they were all staring at me, waiting for me to say something back. I was nervous. I didn't know what to say. Oh boy. I sat up in my seat and looked at them all and said the first thing that came into my head.

"You're all quite short, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. We're children." Violet sneered. Everyone else had turned away now, something which I was thankful for.

"Well, that's no excuse. I was never as short as you." I said in retaliation. This girl annoyed me, almost as much as Mike Teavee.

"You were once." Mike said as he turned around in his seat. Speak of the devil.

"Was not. Know why?" I sneered. "Because I distinctly remember putting a hat on top of my head. Look at your short little arms. You could never reach." I smirked smugly and watched as he turned away. Good. Heh. I was interrupted by Charlie and my thoughts stopped.

"Do you even remember what it was like being a kid?" he asked and I smiled.

"Oh, boy, do I." I said cheerfully. My smile dropped as I suddenly remembered my childhood and I frowned. "Do I?" I said softly. In fact, I hadn't thought about my childhood for years. A sudden memory came back to me from when I was a boy. It was Halloween and I was out with some of my friends trick or treating. I had decided to go as a ghost as it was easy to wear with the brace I had. We went to one of the neighbours and knocked on the door. She was wearing a dress with a pink apron over the top and a little too much make-up.

"Who do we have here?" she laughed as she had a bowl of sweets in her hands. "Ruthie, Veronica, Terrance. And who's that under the sheet?" I had pulled the sheet off me and she smiled. "Little Willy Wonka." She gave us the sweets and we went to some more houses before we went home. My father was the city's most famous dentist; Wilbur Wonka. Because of this he had never allowed me anything that was bad for my teeth, including chocolate. I took the sweets into the living room and he started to look through them.

"Now, let's see what the damage is this year, shall we? Caramels. They'd get stuck in your braces, wouldn't they? Lollipops. Ought to be called 'cavities on a stick'. Then we have all this. . . All this. . . Chocolate." he said looking at the sweets in disgust. "You know, just last week, I was reading in a very important medical journal that some children are allergic to chocolate. Makes their noses itch."

"Maybe I'm not allergic. I could try a piece." I tried but knew it was useless. My father smiled at me.

"Really? But why take a chance?" he grabbed the bowl and walked to the fire. I could do nothing but watch as he chucked the sweets in the fire and let them burn.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft voice calling out to me and a very soft hand touching my own. Weird. I hate contact but this felt good. I like it. "Mr Wonka? Mr Wonka? We're headed for a tunnel." I heard the voice say and snapped out of it and looked to see Rachel looking at me in concern.

"Oh, yeah. Full speed ahead." I said to the Oompa Loompa's but my mind was somewhere still in that memory.

"How can they see where they're going?" Violet asked curiously and that made me smile.

"They can't. There's no knowing where they're going." I noticed that Violet's mother and Veruca looked a little freaked out, not that I cared. "Switch on the lights!" I called and the lights came on just a second before they went down a dip and the speed picked up. Wow. I loved going on this boat. It was so fun! Heh, wow! From the looks of it Charlie and Rachel like it as well. The others looked scared a little. We slowed down slightly and went at a more reasonable pace. "People, keep an eye out. We're passing some very important rooms here." I told them and we passed different rooms, mainly creams.

"What do you use hair cream for?" Mrs Beauregarde asked and twisted in her seat.

"To lock in moisture." I told her and primped my hair. She frowned and turned away. I shrugged and saw that we were passing the Whipped Cream Room. I had purposely left this door open to see if any one would be able to guess why I had done that and realise the method. I was not disappointed. Though I did do it in way that the cows would not be hurt. We wouldn't want that now would we?

"Whipped cream." Charlie cried, making me smile.

"Precisely." I told him proudly.

"That doesn't make sense." Veruca snapped and I couldn't help but glare at her. She is insulting my method's.

"For your information, little girl. . . whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all unless it's been whipped with whips. Everybody knows that." Oops, I sneered at her. Oh well. "Stop the boat. I wonna show you guys something." I said as we passed the Inventing Room. The boat stopped and we got out and I once again helped Rachel out as she seemed to be nervous getting in and out. "Now, this is the most important room in the entire factory. Now, everyone, enjoy yourselves, but just don't. . . touch anything. Okay? Go on. Go on, scoot." I said and shooed them away and they all split up. I watched Rachel go somewhere on her own and followed her. She was looking at the workbench that held a candy that I was inventing. It was a special sweet that changed flavours and lasted for a few hours.

"Hi." I said shyly. I was not used to talking to girls and we were now on our own. She looked up and smiled at me. Wow. Pretty smile.

"Hi." she said softly. "This is an amazing room."

"Yeah!" I beamed.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly and I nodded my head. "What is your favourite room in the entire factory?" The question made me smile and I laughed softly.

"The Candy Room." I told her and she laughed and bit her lip unconsciously. "So Rachel…" I started but was cut off by Violet the gum chewer.

"Hey, Mr Wonka, what's this?" she asked curiously. Wow. The girl can ask things nicely! Well that certainly is a surprise.

"Oh, let me show you." I said and motioned for Rachel to follow me to the tank that she was stood at with Mike. "Thank you." I said to one of the Oompa Loompa's in the tank that passed me a red Everlasting Gobstopper. "These are Everlasting Gobstoppers. They're for children who are given very little allowance money. You can suck on it all year, and it'll never get any smaller. Isn't that neat?" I told them and held out the sweet. There was a small silence before Violet replied to what I had just said.

"It's like gum." I closed my eyes and took a breath. To be truthful I was hoping that every child would pass the test and I would pick at the end but I had no doubt that she would fail her test as she seemed to have a strong obsession over the horrible thing called gum. Disgusting. Yuck. Maybe, just maybe she would pass.

"No. Gum is for chewing. And if you tried chewing one of these Gobstoppers, you'd break all your little teeth off. They sure do taste terrific." I said and looked at it with a smile. They really do taste terrific, I had tried one just the other day and I was hoping to advance it so it changed flavours like the other candy. I waved at them so they knew to follow me and stopped at one of the workbenches and picked up the small piece of candy.

"And this is hair toffee." I told them with a grin. "You suck down one of these little boogers, and in exactly half an hour… a brand new crop of hair will start growing out all over the top of your little noggin. And a moustache. And a beard."

"Who wants a beard?" Mike drawled. Oh, wangdoodles. Think Willy Think.

"Well… beatniks, for one. Folk singers and motorbike riders. You know, all those hip, jazzy, super-cool, neat, keen and groovy cats. It's in the fridge, daddy-o. Are you hep to the jive? Can you dig what I'm laying down? I knew that you could. Slide me some skin, soul brother." I held out my hand and nervously pulled it back when Mike looked at me like I was crazy. What did I do? "Unfortunately, the mixture isn't quite right yet. Because an Oompa-Loompa tried some yesterday, and, well, he…" I chuckled nervously and an Oompa Loompa walked over to us and had hair trailing after him. I heard a giggle in the back of the group and looked up to see it was Rachel. She seemed to be trying to stop them but it wasn't working. I smiled to myself. "How are you today? You look great." The Oompa Loompa left and I decided it was time for Violet's test and jogged excitedly to the machine. "Watch this."

I pulled on the lever and watched giddily as the machine awoke and started to create the treat. I ran to the other side and the group followed me and the silver slot popped out and the strip of gum was pushed out and the machine stopped.

"You mean that's it?" Mike asked disgusted. I bit my tongue to not snap at him. The annoying boy had no idea what it was so how can he say anything bad about it. I'm Willy Wonka, anything I make was genius. Heh.

"Do you even know what 'it' is?" I asked a little annoyed.

"It's gum." Violet piped up. Here we go.

"Yeah. It's a stick of the most amazing and sensational gum in the whole universe. Know why? Know why?" I said and may have gotten a little too excited. "'Cause this gum is a full three-course dinner all by itself." I giggled.

"Why would anyone want that?" Mr Salt asked. At least Veruca's fa… pa… him wasn't saying it in a mean way. He was just seemed confused. I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. I hated being under the spot light sometimes as it made me loose my train of thought. I pulled out the cue cards I had prepared earlier in case something like this happened.

"It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking. Just a little strip of Wonka's magic chewing gum and that is…" I stopped to switch the cue cards. "…all you will ever need at breakfast, lunch and dinner. This piece of gum happens to be tomato soup, roast beef and blueberry pie." I grinned smugly at the end. It was an amazing invention if I do say so myself.

"It sounds great." Rachel said and smiled up at me and I felt compelled to smile back, so I did. She made me feel things I had never felt before.

"I know." I giggled.

"It sounds weird." Veruca sneered and I frowned. How did it sound weird? Huh? She was just weird. So there…

"It sounds like my kinda gum." Violet said as she sprang forward and grabbed the gum in her hand. Well so far not so good. Maybe she wont eat it. Heh. Might as well set the warning now so she knows. Plus if she ate it without me giving a warning something may happen to me. Her mo… yeah, she might sue me.

"I, I'd rather you didn't. There's still one or two thing that are. . ." I tried but she cut me off.

"I'm the world-record holder in chewing gum. I'm not afraid of anything." she snapped and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth. I closed my eyes in annoyance, did none of the kids listen to me?

"How is it, honey?" Mrs Beauregarde said a little too smugly for my liking. I had just said that there are complications and she is spurring her daughter on to eat it? How disgusting. Ew. Horrible woman.

"It's amazing! Tomato soup. I can feel it running down my throat." Violet exclaimed. Yes, I am a genius.

"Yeah. Spit it out." I told her but once again I was ignored.

"Young lady, I think you'd better. . ." At least Rachel tried to help me and could see that she was in the wrong. A little smile came to my face. Rachel was interrupted as Violet's eyes widened.

"It's changing. Roast beef with baked potato. Crispy skin and butter." she cried and kept on chewing.

"Keep chewing, kiddo. My little girl's gonna be the first person in the world to have a chewing-gum meal." Mrs Beauregarde said and smirked at the others in the room. I rolled my eyes. I noticed Veruca had a sour look on her face.

"Yeah. I'm just a little concerned about the. . ."

"Blueberry pie and ice cream." Violet cried cutting over me and I sighed. She obviously brought this on herself.

"That part." I said tiredly and was ready for what would happen next. It took about five seconds before someone realised what was happening to the gum chewing little girl.

"What's happening to her nose?" Veruca asked and everyone turned to look at the girl properly for a look.

"It's turning blue." Mr Salt said shocked and confused. Well it is her own fault, I thought glumly.

"Your whole nose has gone purple." Mrs Beauregarde frowned as she looked at her daughter. I gulped and worried my lip. I was a little worried about Mrs Beauregarde's reaction and response if I was honest. That woman scared me. And disgusted me. Uh-ew, is what I thought of her.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked and touched her nose. I took a step back as I knew what would happen now and I didn't want to see it.

"Violet, you're turning violet. What's happening?" Mrs Beauregarde asked frantically.

I gulped before I answered and looked at Rachel. She looked a little worried. "Well, I told you I hadn't got it quite right. 'Cause it goes a little funny when it gets to the desert. It's the blueberry pie that does it. I'm terribly sorry." With that I jumped behind my machine that made the chewing gum and decided to hide. I could just see her but not fully. I could still hear what was going on though and listened in. I could see her getting bigger and grinned slightly. The little girl's own fault and beside it was a good thing. She was being taught a lesson with all of this. Not that she knew this right now but she would in time, as would all the others in the group. Even the par… the one's that brought them here today.

"Mother? What's happening to me?" I heard Violet cry and I was shocked, well not too much, to note that she still had the gum in her mouth.

"She's swelling up." I heard Rachel gasp.

"Like a blueberry." Charlie said, finishing her sentence. As she was blowing up I snuck around the other side of the machine and popped up next to Mrs Beauregarde and smiled as she flinched from the shock.

"I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas, and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird." I told her and laughed from the awkwardness. I hated awkwardness.

"But I can't have a blueberry as a daughter. How is she supposed to compete?" Mrs Beauregarde said and I frowned slightly. Is that all she cared about? From the look on Rachel's face I could tell that was what she was thinking. What a horrible woman, I thought and gulped.

"You could put her in a county fair." Veruca suggested viciously but I couldn't help but smile. She had gotten rid of the tension. Kind of. She didn't seem to like it as she glared at me.

_Yeah, yeah, Yeah, Listen close, and listen hard, To the tale of Violet Beauregarde,_  
_This gentle girl, She sees no wrong,_  
_In chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long. _  
_Yeah. She goes on chewing till, at last, Her chewing muscles grow so vast,_  
_And from her face, Her giant chin, Sticks out like a violin,_  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long. _  
_For years and years she chews away, Her jaws get stronger every day, _  
_And with one great tremendous chew, They bite the poor girl's tongue in two, _  
_And that is why we try so hard, To save Miss Violet Beauregarde,_  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long, _  
_Chewing, chewing all day long._

As the song for Violet played I smiled and dance along. Another amazing and delightful performance. I had subtly moved away from the blonde woman and went to stand by Rachel. Some reason I felt much better standing next to her. More relaxed and calm. It's just weird. Heh. I noticed she had a small smile on her face as they song played.

"Mr Wonka!" Violet yelled as the Oompa Loompa's, who were in black now, rolled her away to the door and got her stuck. Mrs Beauregarde stomped over to me and I thought that maybe if I ignored her and kept on dancing then maybe she would leave. Sadly I was mistaken. I gulped and motioned for an Oompa Loompa.

"I want you to roll Miss Beauregarde into the boat and take her along to the juicing room at once, okay?" I told him and he nodded.

"The juicing room? What are they gonna do to her there?" Mrs Beauregarde asked horrified.

"They're gonna squeeze her. Like a little pimple." I laughed and Rachel snorted. Mrs Beauregarde glared at them both and I stepped in front of Rachel and looked at Mrs Beauregarde seriously. "We gotta squeeze all that juice out of her immediately."

"Mother, help me. Please." Violet begged and Mrs Beauregarde burrowed her eyebrows and went after her daughter and helped push her out the door and into the boat. Well, now there are three children left. Ew, Mike is still with me. Gross.

"Come on. Let's boogie." I said and led them from another door at the other side of the room and out into a hallway. From this way Veruca would have to have her test first. Too bad. "Without the boat, we'll have to move double-time just to keep on schedule. There's far too much to see."

"Mr Wonka?" I heard someone ask and looked around to see Charlie standing behind me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Why did you decide to let people in?"

"Well, so they could see the factory, of course." I said hoping he wouldn't ask anymore.

"But why now? And why only five?" Rachel asked and I mentally groaned. Why did she have to ask? This was so unfair. Luckily Mike ruined it.

"What's the special prize, and who gets it?" he asked rudely.

"The best kind of prize is a sur-prise." I laughed and carried on walking. Like I was ever going to tell… hah, yeah right. Er… no.

"Will Violet always be a blueberry?" Veruca asked spitefully and pushed Mike out the way.

"No. Maybe. I don't know." I said distractedly. Really, I didn't have any idea. "But that's what you get from chewing gum all day. It's just disgusting."

"If you hate gum so much, why do you make it?" Mike drawled and my eyebrow twitched.

"Once again, you really shouldn't mumble. 'Cos it's kinda starting to bum me out." I said and smirked at him. Well if I was honest the real reason I hated gum was because I had tried it once and I had got it stuck in my braces. I had no idea why I made it. Weird.

"Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?" Charlie asked and my mind went back to that night.

"No." I breath, even though yes, yes I could. My mind seemed to be sucked into the memory without my consent and I watched as it took me back to the night after Halloween. I had been cleaning out the fire and saw one of the chocolate's on the bed of the fire. I had grabbed it and ate it and it was like the sweetest thing ever. He would never let me eat any form of candy and to finally have it was heaven.

"I'm sorry, I was having a flashback." I said dazed as the memory faded away.

"I see." Mr Salt murmured and pulled his daughter closer to him.

"These flashbacks happen often?" Mr Teavee asked and I smiled.

"Increasingly. . . Today." I chuckled nervously and carried on walking down the hallway. I felt a presence come up behind me and looked to my right. It was Rachel.

"Hi." she said shyly and I smiled shyly back.

"Hi."

"Are you alright?" she asked and I gulped.

"Yep." I said cheerily and she smiled back.

"Good." she whispered and looked away.

"Heh." I chuckled and smiled to myself. We came to a stop at a room that Veruca would be tested in and Mr Salt smiled.

"Ah, this is a room I know all about. For you see, Mr Wonka, I, myself, am in the nut business." he said and handed my a business card. I didn't even bother to look at it. Why would I need it? I chucked it behind my back and heard Rachel giggle. "Are you using the Havermax four thousand to do your sorting?"

"No. You're really weird." I laughed and led them inside of the room. The room was white with a huge glass ball hanging in the centre on the room with pipes leading from it to the squirrels underneath that sorted through the nuts. There was a huge hole in the floor to where the bad nuts go.

"Squirrels." Veruca exclaimed. Just like Violet did when it came to the gum. Yuck.

"Yeah. Squirrels. These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of shells." I explained.

"You use squirrels? Why not use Oompa-Loompas?" Her fa… Mr Salt asked curiously.

"Because only squirrels can get the whole walnut out almost every single time. You see how they tap each one with their little knuckles to make sure it's not bad? Oh, look. Look. I think that one's got a bad nut." I said and they all looked down to one of the squirrels who tapped the nut and put it to his ear and then threw it to the floor and it slid down the chute.

"Daddy, I want a squirrel. Get me one of those squirrels. I want one." Veruca demanded and my eyebrow's raised.

"Veruca, dear, you have many marvellous pets." Mr Salt said weakly and Veruca glared at him.

"All I've got at home is one pony and two dogs and four cats and six rabbits and two parakeets and three canaries and a green parrot and a turtle and a silly old hamster. I want a squirrel!" she snapped and I noticed everyone looked shocked. Even Mike.

"All right, pet. Daddy will get you a squirrel just as soon as he possibly can." Mr Salt sighed and I knew he was trying to avoid asking me for one. I grinned slightly.

"But I don't want any old squirrel, I want a trained squirrel." Veruca told him and he sighed deeply before he grabbed his check book.

"Very well. Mr Wonka, how much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price." he told me and I looked up, pretending I wasn't listening in. Heh. Veruca looked at me with a big fake smile as though to win me over. Well it didn't, it made it worse. Ha, as though she could win me over.

"Oh, they're not for sale. She can't have one." I said slowly with a smile, making sure she would understand. Veruca's smiled dropped and anger entered her eyes and her head snapped to Mr Salt.

"Daddy." she said with a warning in her voice. Mr Salt looked torn and didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry, darling. Mr Wonka's being unreasonable." I said, impersonating Mr Salt. I stuck my chin out and my nose in the air and he looked a little annoyed. I heard a giggle and looked to my left and saw Rachel.

"What?" she said. "That was very good." I grinned at her and felt a little flattered.

"If you won't get me a squirrel, I'll get one myself." Veruca said and there was disappointment in her voice which made me frown. She has no reason to be disappointed and it made me glad that she would probably fail the test.

"Veruca." Mr Salt shouted trying to get her to come back which didn't work.

"Little girl?" I called.

"Veruca, come back here at once. Veruca." Mr Salt said more sternly but she continued to ignore him as she looked around.

"Little girl? Don't touch that squirrel's nuts. It'll make him crazy." I said so she had her warning and nothing was down to me anymore. She stopped and smiled.

"I'll have you." she said and went to grab it but they all jumped on her and she yelped and tried to get them off. Rachel gasped and I looked at her. Her eyes were wide and her hand was at her mouth.

"Veruca. Veruca. Veruca!" Mr Salt was shouting over and over again. Mr Salt looked at me frantically and I grabbed the huge set of keys. I started to look through them even though I knew which one it was. I wanted to make sure she was going to be tested.

"Let's find the key. Nope. Not that one." I said to myself as I purposely put the wrong key in the gate.

"Daddy!" Veruca cried as she was now being pinned to the floor.

"Veruca!" Mr Salt yelled again and shook the gate.

"No. There it is. There it isn't." I mumbled and carried on picking the wrong keys.

"Daddy, I want them to stop." Veruca yelled up to them.

"What are they doing?" Rachel asked me and grabbed my arm. I looked at it before I answered.

"They're testing to see if she's a bad nut." I said and we all watched as the squirrel sat on her chest and knocked on her head. "Oh, my goodness. She is a bed nut after all." I told the group and the squirrel's started to get off her and climb underneath her.

"Veruca!" Mr Salt shouted.

"Daddy!" Veruca cried and scraped her nails on my floor to try and stop them chucking her down the chute. Now that was plain rude. She screamed as she was chucked down and I placed the right key in the gate.

"Where are they taking her?" Mr Salt demanded as his daughter's screams ended in nothing.

"Where all the other bad nuts go. To the garbage chute." I told him.

"Where does the chute go?"

"To the incinerator." I breathed and noticed their looks. "But don't worry. We only light it on Tuesdays."

"Today is Tuesday." Mike drawled and I glared at him. Couldn't he keep quiet?

"Well, there's always the chance they decided not to light it today." I said awkwardly and hopefully. "Now, she may be stuck in the chute just below the top. If that's the case, all you have to do is just reach in and pull her out. Okay?" I unlocked the gate and pushed it open so he could get through and he walked down the steps. I shut it and locked it knowing he wouldn't be coming back though. My beloved Oompa Loompa's started their song.

_Veruca Salt the little brute, Has just gone down the garbage chute, _  
_And she will meet, as she descends, A rather different set of friends, _  
_A rather different set of friends, A rather different set of friends, _  
_a fish head, for example, cut, This morning from a halibut, _  
_An oyster from an oyster stew, A steak that no-one else would chew, _  
_And lots of other things as well, Each with its rather horrid smell, Horrid smell, _  
_These are Veruca's newfound friends, That she will meet as she descends, _  
_These are Veruca's newfound friends. Who went and spoiled her, who indeed? _  
_Who pandered to her every need? Who turned her into such a brat? _  
_Who are the culprits? Who did that? The guilty ones, now this is sad, _  
_Are dear old Mum and loving Dad._

I swayed with the music and as it said loving dad the squirrel jumped from his seat and pushed him in the chute. I chuckled and clapped my hands. An Oompa Loompa pulled on my coat so I bent down to here what he had to say. "Oh, really? Oh, good." I stood up and faced the group. "I've just been informed that the incinerator's broken. So there should be about three weeks of rotten garbage to break their fall."

"Well, that's good news." Mr Teavee said sarcastically but I just ignored him. Easy to see where Mike gets his attitude from.

"Yeah." I said and smiled at him. He had a bored and sour look on his face. As always. "Well, let's keep on trucking." We all got out of the room and I shut it and went to the elevator. "I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier." Well I did, it was because we couldn't all fit in it. "The elevator's by far the most efficient way to get around the factory." True.

"There can't be this many floors." Mike sneered. Wow. I hated this kid.

"How do you know, Mr Smarty-Pants?" I sneered right back. "And this isn't just an ordinary up and down elevator, by the way. This elevator can go sideways, longways, slantways, and any other ways you can think of. You just press any button and, whoosh, you're off." I pressed a button and they all went flying back. "Are you ok?" I asked Rachel who looked like she may have whacked her head pretty hard.

"Yeah, thank you." she said and rubbed her head.

I smiled at her. "No problem. Heh." We came into fudge mountain.

"Oh, look. Look. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to fudge mountain." I said and they all looked at it in wonder. The Oompa Loompa's on the mountain waved and the only one that waved back with me was Rachel, that made me smile. We moved on to the Cotton Candy room and my smile dropped. I had no idea how they would take this one. "Oh… I'd rather not talk about this one." I said nervously and they all looked at the pink sheep that was getting shaved. "This is the puppet hospital and burn centre. It's relatively new." I told them as we came into the room. We sped on and came to the Administrations office. "Ah, the administration offices. Hello, Doris." I said and waved at her. She waved back and they sped off and made everyone stumble again.

We came to the one of the rooms and shot down. I grabbed Rachel when she fell and put her up right. Her cheeks burned red and I smiled. I really loved it when she blushed, I did not know why. Huh, weird. She thanked me and let go. An explosion came right above our heads and exploded into different colours. Rachel and Charlie had smiles on their faces and the colours made Rachel's eyes shine.

"Why is everything here completely pointless?" Mike demanded.

"Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy." Charlie said and I smiled slightly. This boy was amazing, he even had my ideas on candy. I didn't think anyone would have thought about it like that. He definitely impressed me with that.

"It's stupid." Mike snapped and my mind was taken back to a memory that I had not thought about for years.

"Candy is a waste of time. No son of mine is going to be a chocolatier." my father said and scowled down at him, I was about twelve years old at the time.

"Then I'll run away." I told my father. "To Switzerland. Bavaria. The candy capitals of the world."

"Go ahead. But I won't be here when you come back." my father sneered. I had left that night at went to the museum with all the flags. I had stayed there all night until the guard had stopped me saying that they were closing for the night. I had left and gone home, but eventually left home a few years later and never looked back once. Not once.

"I wonna pick a room." Mike whined and I smiled a little dazed still from the memory. I moved to the side so he could see that back of the elevator and I knew what he would pick.

"Go ahead." I said and he looked at me before he looked at the wall and picked the television room. I heard Rachel scoff and smiled. We came to a stop and hopped out of the elevator and into a huge white room. This was my Television room, one of my latest inventions. I ran over to the wall where a bucket was attached and pulled out some goggles and put them on my face to protect my eyes. They were like the ones I had earlier just in white.

"Here. Put these on quick, and don't take them off whatever you do. This light could burn your eyeballs right out of your skulls. And we certainly don't want that, now, do we?" I said and they all grabbed a pair and put them on. When I was satisfied I spun around after one last look at Rachel. "This is the testing room for my very latest and greatest invention: Television Chocolate. One day it occurred to me. . . Hey, if television can break up a photograph into millions and millions of tiny little pieces and send it whizzing through the air, then reassemble it on the other end. . . Why can't I do the same thing with chocolate? Why can't I, send a real bar of chocolate through the television, all ready to be eaten?"

"Cool." I heard Rachel whisper and grinned at her.

"Sounds impossible." Mr Teavee said and my eyes narrowed. Nothing is impossible. Wangdoodle.

"It is impossible. You don't understand anything about science. First off, there's a difference between waves and particles. Duh!" Mike ranted and I took a deep breath to calm myself. No point letting the little television loving boy get to me. "Second, the amount of power it would take to convert energy in matter would be like nine atomic bombs." That's it!

"Mumbler!" I shouted and glared at him. It was not my fault, no way! He led me to do this. "Seriously, I cannot understand a single word you're saying." I straightened up and there seemed to be an awkward silence following after me. I cleared my throat and spun around. "Okey-dokey. I shall now send a bar of chocolate from one end of the room. . . to the other, by television. Bring in the chocolate!" I said and the Oompa Loompa's brought in a huge bar of chocolate and I heard Rachel gasp and her eyes widened. She looked rather cute. "It's gotta be real big, 'cos you know how on TV you can film a regular-size man, and he comes out looking this tall? Same basic principle." I said to her and she nodded her head. I leaned forward and press a big red button that stood out in the white room. The podium lifted up and then the chocolate bar floated in the air and disappeared in white light.

"It's gone!" Charlie exclaimed and I grinned proudly.

"Told you. Now, that bar of chocolate is now rushing through the air above our heads in a million tiny little pieces." I said and motioned them to follow me over to the TV. "Come over here. Come on. Come on. Come on! Watch the screen. Here it comes. Oh, look." I pointed at the TV when the bar came through. "Take it." I told Mike and he sneered at me. How rude.

"It's just a picture on a screen."

"Scaredy-cat." I mocked. I did not care for this boy at all. "You take it. Go on. Just reach out and grab it. Go on." I said to Rachel and nudged her. She looked at me and then her brother and leaned forward and her hand disappeared through the screen and she shyly grabbed the bar and pulled her hand back.

"Wow." Charlie said and his eyes were wide. So was my smile.

"Eat it. Go on. It'll be delicious. It's the same bar. It's just gotten a little smaller on the journey, that's all." I said gently and made biting motions when she didn't do it. She grinned at me and unwrapped it and took a bite. She swallowed and grinned at me.

"It's great." Heh. Great.

"It's a miracle." Charlie said as I straightened up.

"So imagine, ah, you're sitting at home watching television and suddenly a commercial will flash onto the screen, and a voice will say, "Wonka's chocolates are the best in the world. If you don't believe us, try one for yourself." And you simply reach out. . . and take it." I said and whispered the last three words for effect. "How about that?" I looked at the Oompa Loompa that was on the seat and nodded my head.

"So can you send other things? Say, like, breakfast cereal?" Mr Teavee asked and I grimaced. Yuck, breakfast cereals. Disgusting.

"Do you have any idea what breakfast cereal's made of? It's those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners." I told him wiggling my fingers.

"But could you send it by television if you wanted to?" Charlie asked and I shrugged.

"Of course I could." I am Willy Wonka, of course I can.

"What about people?" Mike asked and I frowned, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Well, why would I want to send a person? They don't taste very good at all." I told him and shook my head. He looked at little annoyed I noted.

"Don't you realise what you've invented? It's a teleporter. It's the most important invention in the history of the world. And all you think about is chocolate." he spat at me and I blanched.

"Calm down, Mike. I think Mr Wonka knows what he's talking about." Mr Teavee said shocking me. He was actually sticking up for me and going against his son. Wow. Weird.

"No, he doesn't. He has no idea. You think he's a genius, but he's an idiot." I frowned. I am not an idiot. You are. "But I'm not." Oh but you are.

"Hay, little boy. Don't push my button." I told him, giving him his warning as he ran to the podium. He jumped up and pressed it with his foot and ran and jumped and disappeared in a flash of white light.

"He's gone." Mr Teavee gasped and I gulped. He did have a warning.

"Let's go check the television, see what we get. I sure hope no part of him gets left behind." I said. Well looks like I have a winner. Yey. Charlie is the winner. My heir. Wow.

"What do you mean?" Mr Teavee demanded as he heard what I said. Oops, that was not meant to be said too loud.

"Well, sometimes only half the little pieces find their way through. If you had to choose only one half of your son, which one would it be?" I asked generally curious.

"What kind of a question is that?" he snapped and I flinched back.

"No need to snap. Just a question." I said grumpily and looked back at the screen. "Try every channel. I'm starting to feel a little anxious." I told the Oompa Loompa.

"There he is." Charlie said suddenly and we all saw as Mike came onto the screen.

_The most important thing, That we've ever learned, _  
_The most important thing we've learned, As far as children are concerned, _  
_Is never, never let them near, The television set, _  
_Or better still just don't install, The idiotic thing at all, _  
_Never, never let them, Never, never let them, _  
_Never, never let them, Never, never let them, _  
_It rots the senses in the head, It keeps imagination dead, _  
_It clogs and clutters up the mind, It makes a child so dull and blind, _  
_So dull, so dull, He can no longer understand, _  
_A fairy tale, a fairyland, _  
_A fairyland, a fairyland, _  
_His brain becomes as soft as cheese, His thinking powers rust and freeze, _  
_He cannot think, he only sees. Regarding little Mike Teavee, _  
_We very much regret that we, Regret that we, Shall simply have to wait and see, _  
_Wait and see, wait and see, _  
_Wait and see, wait and see, wait and see, _  
_We very much regret that we, Shall simply have to wait and see, _  
_If we can get him back his height, But if we can't, It serves him right._

At the end of the song I flinched as he got whacked by some papers and squashed. Ew. "Ew, somebody grab him." I said and Mr Teavee stepped forward and grabbed him and placed him on his hand. "Oh, thank heavens. He's completely unharmed." I breathed as I looked him over.

"Unharmed? What are you talking about?" Mr Teavee demanded roughly but I didn't have an answer.

"Just put me back in the other way." Mike said in a squeaky nearly non audible voice. Very funny.

"There is no other way. It's television, not telephone. There's quite a difference." I told him softly.

"And what exactly do you propose to do about it?" Mr Teavee demanded angrily and I frowned thinking for a moment.

"I don't know. But young men are extremely springy. They stretch like mad." I said when an idea came to my mind. A rather good one if I think about it. "Ah! Let's go put him in the taffy puller."

"Taffy puller?"

"Hey, that was my idea." I pouted. "Boy, is he gonna be skinny. Yeah. Taffy puller." I thought about it and realised how skinny he would be. Wow. "I want you to take Mr Teavee and his… little boy, up to the taffy puller, okay? Stretch him out." The Oompa Loompa nodded and led Mr Teavee off. Now there was just Charlie left but I feigned innocence. "On with the tour. There's still so much left to see. Now, how many children are left?" I said and spun around as we left the room. Charlie and Rachel were just taking off the goggles and looked at me.

"Mr Wonka, Charlie's the only one left now." Rachel told me softly with a small smile.

"You mean, you're the only one?" I faked again and she nodded. "What happened to the others?" A smile made it's way onto my face and I grabbed his hand. "Oh, my dear boy, but that mean's you've won. Oh, I do congratulate you. I really do. I'm absolutely delighted. I had a hunch you know, right from the beginning. Well done. Now, we mustn't dilly, or dally. Because we have an enormous number of things to do before the day's out." I let his hand go and spun around. "But luckily for us, we have the great glass elevator to speed things al. . . " I felt a sharp pain in my head and fell to the floor. Ow. I did not see that there. I got up and rubbed my head embarrassed. "Speed things along." I finished. "Come on."

We got into the elevator and the doors closed. I press the button I have always wanted to push and smiled. "Up and out? What kind of room is that?" Charlie asked me and my grin went wider.

"Hold on. Oh, my goodness. We're gonna need to go much faster, otherwise we'll just never break through." I said as I looked up.

"Break through what?" Rachel asked nervously and grabbed my arm. It did not feel horrible to have her hold on to me. Actually I liked it. Very much.

"I've been longing to press that button for years. Well, here we go. Up and out!" My eyes widened in excitement.

"But do you really mean. . .?" Rachel trailed off and looked up.

"Yeah, I do." I giggled.

"But it's made of glass. It'll smash into a million pieces." she said and her eyes widened. She didn't have time to say anything else as the elevator broke through the glass roof and into the air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three **

I looked down as I felt Rachel grab my arm and smiled slightly. It was really weird because I could never stand to be touched before but I like it when she touched me. Weird. We stopped in the air and my stomach tightened slightly as we started to head towards the ground. I quickly pressed a button as I heard Rachel 'eep' and giggled slightly. We stopped once again and just floated in the air as I pressed the button. "Look." I heard Charlie said and I looked down to see the factory doors openeing and the other contestants were coming out. If we strained our ears enough we all managed to hear what they were saying.

Augustus and Mrs Gloop came out first and led the group to the gates. She was looking at her son with a frown on her face. Augustus was covered in chocolate from head to toe and was busy licking his fingers and stuffing them into his mouth. I gagged slightly. How disgusting. "Augustus, please, don't eat your fingers." Mrs Gloop was saying and sighing at the same time. I wondered how long it would be until they all learnt their lessons.

"But I taste so good." Augustus told her and continued on with what he was doing. From the look on her face I could tell she had been taught a lesson and would not be letting the boy gorge himself on chocolate anymore. Heh. Well one worked. Next was Violet. She was still the colour violet but she was back to her right size and was apparently very flexible now and she did bends people should not be able to do. I wrinkled my nose at the display. Mrs Beauregarde was looking down at her with a stange expression that I could not figure out.

"Look, Mother. I'm much more flexible now." Violet said as she flipped down the stairs and grinned up at her.

"Yes, but you're blue." Mrs Beauregarde said and sighed and walked away. Maybe their lesson was not taught but if I saw correctly Violet was not eating any gum at all. I smiled. Next in the line was Veruca Salt and Mr Salt. I smiled at the sight of them. They had garbage covering every single piece of their body. Disgusting. Veruca looked up at us and snapped her head back to Mr Salt.

"Daddy, I want a flying glass elevator." she demanded.

"Veruca, the only thing you're getting today is a bath, and that's final." Mr salt said.

"But I want it." she snapped and he shut her up with a look. I smiled at my accomplishment. Obviously Mr Salt was not going to let her be a spoilt brat anymore and I felt a lot better. Even though I hated Mike the most, Veruca was with out a doubt the most spoilt one there. Next in line was Mike and I felt my lips twitch as I saw him. He was huge but was as skinny as a piece of paper. Mr Teavee was looking up at his son with a worried expression and was holding his coat in his hands. He sighed and continued on walking. I chuckled to myself and turned to Rachel and Charlie.

"Where do you live?" I asked them.

"Right over there. That little house." Charlie said and I looked to where he was pointing and frowned. It was a little house that was bent to one side and was away from the others. How was I meant to turn away his family now? I felt rather bad about it but I had to try. I pressed a button and flew over to the house and crashed through the roof. Oops. Perhaps I need to work on my landing, heh. I heard a shriek and watched as a woman and a man jumped out of the way.

"I think there's someone at the door." I heard an old woman say and raised an eyebrow. That woman was crazy! Heh. Weird. I opened the elevator doors and Charlie rushed out of it. Rachel smiled at me and I felt the need to smile back, which I did and gulped. She was rather beautiful and lovely.

"Hi, Mom." I heard Charlie say and turned to look. Rachel walked out and went over to her brother as well. I stepped out nervously and looked around. This was their home? How could they live in something so small? I thought and frowned. Not very healthy or safe. Looks like the ceiling could cave in at any minute. And then Rachel would be hurt. Oh no. Bad.

"Mom. Dad. We're back." Charlie shouted and ran to them and hugged them. "This is Willy Wonka. He gave us a ride home." Charlie told them and I looked up and smiled before I decided to have a look around the tiny home.

"I see that." I heard Mrs Bucket say quietly and I turned around to face them.

"You must be the boy's. . ." I tried to continued but the words would not come out and I choked on them.

"Parents?" Mr Bucket said and I nodded my head.

"Yeah. That." I said relieved and walked over to the cupboards and started to open them.

"He says Charlie's won something." I heard the sweet voice of Rachel say.

"Not just some something. The most 'something' something of any something that's ever been. I'm gonna give this little boy my entire factory." I told them as I opened a cupboard door and froze. There was a model of my factory from toothpaste lids and it was very well done. I was even done in the model. It was quite a likeness. I grinned slightly.

"You must be joking." Rachel laughed and I turned around to look at them all.

"No, really. It's true. Because, you see, a few months ago, I was having my semi-annual haircut. . . and I had the strangest revelation. In that one silver hair, I saw reflected my life's work, my factory, my beloved Oompa-Loompas. Who would watch over them after I was gone? I realised in that moment, 'I must find an Heir'. And I did, Charlie. You." I told them and stepped forward to smile at the boy.

"That's why you sent out the golden tickets." Charlie guessed and I nodded my head.

"Ah-ha."

"What are Oompa-Loompas?" I heard Mrs Bucket say but I ignored her to explain it more so they would understand.

"I invited five children to the factory and the one who was the least rotten would be the winner." I giggled and gripped my cane.

"That's you, Charlie." Rachel smiled.

"So what do you say? Are you ready to leave all this behind and come live with me at the factory?" I asked though I knew what the answer would be.

"Sure. Of course. I mean, it's all right if my family come too?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, my dear boy, of course they can't." I told them and I noticed their faces dropped. "You can't run a chocolate factory with a family hanging over you like an old, dead goose. No offence." I said quickly to the old people in the bed. Don't want them to think I am rude.

"None taken, jerk." one of the two old men said and I narrowed my eyes. Ok, heh, apparently they did take offence to it.

"A chocolatier has to run free and solo. He has to follow his dreams. Gosh darn the consequences. Look at me. I had no family, and I'm a giant success." I told him proudly and opened my arms with a grin on my face.

"So if I go with you to the factory, I won't ever see my family again?" Charlie said slowly and I nodded my head rapidly.

"Yeah. Consider that a bonus."

"Then I'm not going." Charlie said completely shocking me. Why would he say that? It's just... weird. "I wouldn't give up my family for anything. Not for all the chocolate in the world." I really didn't know what to say.

"Oh, I see. That's weird. There's other candy too besides chocolate." I said in the hopes of swaying him but he had a determined look in his eyes that I knew I could not.

"I'm sorry, Mr Wonka. I'm staying here."

"Wow. Well, that's just. . . unexpected. . . and weird." I said quietly and gripped my cane tightly. This was not how it was meant to be. "But I suppose, in that case, I'll just. . . Goodbye, then. Sure you won't change your mind?" I grinned hopefully but he shook his head.

"I'm sure." I swallowed and looked at Rachel who looked shocked and sad and for some reason a ball of guilt and sadness washed all over me. I didn't like that look on her and felt the need to wash it away but I did not know how I was meant to do that. I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button to open the door and stepped inside. I took one last look at Charlie and then Rachel before my body slumped.

"Okay. Bye." I whispered and took off back to my factory.

* * *

It had been about four days since the I had left the Bucket family and I did not feel like myself at all. I had continued to make my candies and invent new ones but they just didn't seem to be coming out right and they were not selling very well either. I did not know what was wrong with me. I didn't feel too hot at all. I walked down the steps and came to one of my rooms that was not used for candy. I laid down on the couch and took a breath. I had Oompa Loompa's for every task I needed. Very useful. Yeah. I took a breath before I apparently just started to rant.

"I can't put my finger on it. Candy's always been the only thing I was ever certain of and now I'm just not certain at all. I don't know which flavours to make. I don't know which ideas to try. I'm second-guessing my self, which is nuts." I took a breath before I carried on. "I've always made whatever candy I felt like, and I. . . That's just it, isn't it? I make the candy I feel like, but now I feel terrible, so the candy's terrible." I grinned and sat up from my spot on the couch and grinned at my Oompa Loompa. "You're very good." He smiled at me and I got up and left the room. I decided I would go and visit Charlie today.

I got in my glass elevator after I put on my black coat and closed the doors. I parked it and walked down the street before I saw Charlie. I grabbed a newspaper and held it up in front of my face before I sat down in the chair. It was silent for a second before I broke the silence.

"Pity about that chocolate fellow, Wendell, er, Walter." I said masking my voice.

"Willy Wonka." Charlie corrected me.

"That's the one. Says here in the paper his new candies aren't selling very well. But I suppose he's just a rotten egg who deserves it." I said and waited for his answer.

"Yep." Charlie said making me frown. Did he really mean that? No way!

"Oh, really? You ever met him?"

"I did. I thought he was great at first, but then he didn't turn out so nice." Charlie sighed making me frown even more. "He also has a funny haircut." I scowled and threw down the paper to glare at him. My hair is fine! Huh! Weird, why would he say that?

"I do not!" I countered and he looked up at me with tired eyes.

"Why are you here?" he sighed and I leaned back in the chair.

"I don't feel so hot." I admitted. "What makes you feel better when you feel terrible?" I was generally curious about his answer.

"My family." he said automatically making me grimace. Why did he have to say that? Why!

"Euw." I groaned and he glared at me, shocking me actually.

"What do you have against my family?" he demanded and I sighed.

"It's not just your family." I told him and looked him in the eye. "It's the whole idea of. . . You know, they're always telling you what to do, what not to do, and it's not conducive to a creative atmosphere." I folded my arms and pouted.

"Usually they're just trying to protect you because they love you." Charlie said softly and I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. "If you don't believe me, you should ask."

"Ask who? My father? No way." I scoffed. There is no way that is happening. I hadn't seen him for so long and... "At least, not by myself." I mumbled and he smiled at me.

"You want me to go with you?" he asked gently and I grinned. Perfect.

"Hey. Hey, what a good idea. Yeah!" I bounced in my seat and jumped up.

"Charlie!" I heard a familiar voice yell and we turned around to see Rachel turning the corner. She stopped when she saw me and I gulped. I had not realised how much I missed her now that I saw her again. It was so amazing to be able to see her beautiful eyes again and to hear her voice. Amazing. Wow.

"Rachel." Charlie greeted and walked up to her.

"What's going on?" she asked and looked at her brother and then me.

"We are going to go and see Willy's father. Do you want to come?" he asked and then looked at me. "If that is ok with you of course." I looked at her and nodded my head.

"Heh. Great." I giggled nervously and gulped.

"Okay." she said softly and I started to walk again.

"And you know what? I got transp. . ." I broke off as I felt a sharp pain stab my head and I crumbled to the ground. I heard Rachel and Charlie gasp and felt their arms helping me up. "I have to be more careful where I park this thing." I said shyly. That was twice I had done that in her presence now. She will think I am a right clutz. Wangdoodle.

"Are you ok?" she asked and I nodded and felt my cheeks burn so quickly went into the elevator and they followed me inside. It took about fourty-five minutes for us to get there but when we did I felt my throat go dry. There was my house. It was all alone now and there was snow everywhere.

"I think we've got the wrong house." I said nervously and Rachel stood in front of me when I tried to turn away. She folded her arms and gave me a stern look.

"Come on, you can do this." she said gently. "Don't you want to see your father again?" I lowered my eyes. If I was honest with myself I did want to see him again because even though he was not the best at dad's all the time he was still my father and I loved him. I looked into her eyes and nodded. She smiled that amazing smile at me and turned me around and we all walked to the door. Charlie knocked on the door and we waited a few second before the door answered and I came face to face with my father. He had aged somewhat and now had white hair and beard with grey splashed here and there. He was wearing his dentists suit and was looking at us a little suspicously for some reason.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked and I gulped. He sounded exactly the same as the last time I heard it.

"No. But he's overdue." Charlie said and he gave us one last look before he let us in. Rachel gave my hand a squeeze before I walked in and she shut the door behind her. I was taken to the room where my father did his work and Rachel and Charlie walked off to the side. I sat down nervously and my eyes flickered to them before the chair was pushed back and I was laid down on my back.

"Open." my father ordered and I did as told and opened my mouth so he could check my teeth. "Now, let's see what the damage is, shall we? Heavens. I haven't seen bicuspids like these since. . . Since. . . Willy?" I gulped and looked up at him nervously and sat up in the chair. I looked at him and he had a shocked and slightly awkward air about him.

"Hi, Dad." I said softly and looked down. I had not spoken to him in such a long time and we did not really end things on a happy note that it was all so weird to me and really nerve wracking.

"All these years. . . and you haven't flossed." my father said and I looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"Not once." I told him. Slowly and unsurely I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. He tensed but then I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn't know how nice it felt to be held by my father again and I was so happy that they made me come here and didn't just let me leave when I wanted to. We let go and he offered us some tea and I introduced Rachel and Charlie to him. With a promise we would come back and that he had to come have a tour of the factory we took our leave. I walked down the steps and my hand twitched before I slid it into Rachel's. She looked up at me shocked but smiled at me anyway. Phew. I smiled back and we got into the elevator and flew back home.

On the way I thought to myself. Charlie was an amazing boy and he did win the contest. I was thinking about the concept of family and now that I had my father back I began to realise what Charlie was saying before. I decided that tonight I would ask Charlie the offer again but this time his family could come with him aswell. The thought of seeing Rachel everyday made me smile. We reached his home and I managed to not ruin his house this time and I noticed the hole in the roof from where I crushed it last time was fixed. We walked to the house and my hand tightened against Rachel's. The last time I was here I believe I was rather rude, who knew what their reactions to seeing me would be. I gulped.

"It will be ok." Rachel whispered in my ear and I shivered. I nodded my head and we walked inside. "I'm going to my room. Leave you and Charlie to it." She squeezed my hand before she hopped up the stairs and out of site. I spent about twenty minutes talking to them about the offer and about five minutes apologising. I had to admit, this family was nice, one of the nicest families I had ever met. I offered to tell Rachel and went to go get her and walked up the steps and into a small room. She was sat on her bed and was reading a book.

"They accepted." I blurted when I saw her. She looked up with a startled expression and then smiled.

"Really?" she asked as I sat on the bed. I nodded my head and smiled.

"You will be moving in tomorrow." I said and she nodded her head and closed the book. "Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"May I do something?" I gulped and gripped the cane tightly and she looked up at me curiously and nodded her head. I nodded my own and took a deep breath for what I was about to do. I bent forward and touched my lips against hers and closed my eyes. She gapsed in shock but then pressed back against my own. Her lips were soft and had the slight taste of strawberries. Hm. I felt her hand touch my face and supressed a shiver and then pulled back. I looked at her and smiled, she smiled back. "Er... I,er... well, heh, I like you." I stuttered and mentally shouted at myself for it.

"Really?" she asked breathlessly and I nodded my head.

"Oh yes, very much." I said and nodded my head rapidly.

"I like you too." she responded and my grin widened. I kissed her again and then stood up.

"We best get downstairs." I told her and she nodded her head and jumped up.

I got their house moved over the next day and put it in the candy room. It was nice to finally not be alone in this big factory and I grinned to myself. Me and Charlie jogged down over the bridge and over to the house and pushed the door open and saw that everyone, except Mrs Bucket, was already at the table.

"Sorry we're late. We were brainstorming." Charlie told them as we took off out coats.

"Though I heard thunder." Grandpa George grumbled and I rolled my eyes.

"You staying for dinner, Willy?" Charlie's mother asked and I nodded my head eagerly.

"Yes, please." I said politely and sat down next to Rachel and Grandma Georgina. I grabbed Rachel's hand from under the table and we smiled at each other.

"I'll shuffle the plates." Grandpa Joe said and went to the kitchen to grab some plates from the cupboard and started to pass one to everyone. I frowned when I felt Grandma Georgina move closer to me.

"You smell like peanuts. I love peanuts." she said and I widened my eyes. I heard Rachel giggle and squeezed her hand. How was I meant to reply to that? Oh boy.

"Oh, thank you. You smell like. . . old people and soap." I said and gulped. "I like it." I added and she squealed and hugged me. I may have been getting better with letting people touch me but that was mainly with Rachel and I still felt rather weird with her hug.

"Elbows off the table, Charlie." I heard Grandma Josephine tell Charlie just as I was being let go of. I bent forward and pulled Rachel's hand onto my lap as I did.

"How do you feel about little raspberry kites?" I asked with an excited grin and I heard Rachel laugh softly.

"With licorice instead of string." Charlie nodded and I was about to say something else but Mrs Bucket caught me off.

"Boys, no business at the dinner table." she said but had a smile on her lips anyway.

"Sorry, Mom." Charlie said and started to put some food on his plate.

"I think you're on to something, though, Charlie." I couldn't help but adding before I filled my own plate. So in the end Charlie did win the factory but I had gotten something even better than that. I had gotten a family and found the person who made me incredibly happy. One thing was absolutely certain; Life had never been sweeter.

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**Thank you to those that reviewed the story and thanks for reading.**


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